Match of the Week

[Uncle Sam]

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The Concept

Simple really, and you've probably already worked it out from the title. Each week I post a match. The criteria are completely intangible, and so it'll probably be based on what mood I'm in. I'll also be asking for suggestions from other members (necessary, really, as my wrestling history is fairly mediocre) and you can feel free to offer your own suggestions. Please comment, discuss, whatever. Spam is allowed, seeing as we're in the spam zone.


Week One

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Kurt Angle (C) vs. The Undertaker, No Way Out 2006

With No Way Out having just passed, I thought that this match would be fitting as my first ever. Of course, there are other, better reasons for this to be match of the week - it's also one of my favourite matches ever and between two of my favourite wrestlers ever. Personally, I think it's breathtaking and that its only flaw is it made Angle's WrestleMania match far less impressive in comparison, as well as highlighting how Rey Mysterio had to cheat (watch the match!) to get the win in that particular match. I digress. Why don't you be the judge of whether you agree with me that HBK/McMahon did in fact not deserve the PWI Match of the Year Award? The clips are in chronological order, enjoy:

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Thoughts?

[JoeyRyan]

mark

[Mighty NorCal]

^^^^^banned^^^^


Excellent match sam, seriously. One of the best matches to ever happen at NWO. The spot were Angle whacks his throat on the tableis legit I think, and looks brutal. Great brawling mixed in with the wrestling, and awesome use of submission maneuvers from UT. You really didnt know who would take this at any time. Great great match 10/10

[Y 2 Jake]

mark

Hands up if you're not a mark.

Great match.

[Uncle Sam]

Personally, I was amazed at how many times Angle could reverse one of Undertaker's moves into an Ankle Lock. I found it very un-WWE like to have something like that in match. I also liked how it didn't make either guy look weak, not that they would have lost momentum by losing either way, considering they were both at the very top of their game. If this had happened at WrestleMania, Taker would have got the win undoubtedly.

[Esteban Ochocinco]

Easily my choice for match of the year. That match was amazing. Undertaker and Angle always had great matches, even way back to Fully Loaded 2000. I think Angle is the only person to make the Undertaker ever tap out and that was pre-Vengeance 03. This match was there best and showed signs of the technical wrestler the Undertaker is trying to evolve too. My opinion, the best match the WWE has had the last 3 years, and there isn't a close second.

[Esteban Ochocinco]

And as a side note, how the fuck McMahon and HBK won match of the year is beyond me. It's just fucking HBK fan boys that think everything he touches turns to gold, and I respect the hell out of Michaels. It's crap like that that makes me not want to be a fan, because he simply isn't incredible enough to get Match of the Year out of McMahon. That was frustrating as hell. McMahon/HBK sucked and was just one spot after another.

[IrishEnglishman24]

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forgotten just how good that match was.

hbk/mcmahon was nothing on that. all it had was a big build up to a feud. hbk isnt bad in the ring but there's no way anything could compare mcmahon to either of these guys in one of the few matches you didn't really know who'd win.

[Cage917r]

I remember this match and it is by far one of my all time favorites. It was a great back and forth match and i honestly had no clue who was going win, which doesnt' happen very often these days. Both men hit/locked in there specials numerous times and the match appeared to be over. It was definetely the match of the year, featuring two of the all time greats. The only reason McMahon/HBK won was because McMahon was in the match, and what he says goes.

[Uncle Sam]

Week Two

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match
Dean Malenko (C) vs. Rey Mysterio, Jr., Great American Bash 1996

Something a bit outside of mainstream before WrestleMania week - this week we’re delving into old school WCW. Is there such a thing as new school WCW? That’s beside the point. What isn’t is that this is an incredible match, some may disagree, but they’ll probably also use the phrase “ring psychology” at least once as they do so. Rey Mysterio ("Jr." still present in his name) makes his debut and silences all his doubters, thanks in no small part to an incredible wrestler in Dean Malenko. What do I know? The history of WCW is something outside of my comfort zone, so I’ll be playing it safe and I’ll just let the match do the talking; judge for yourself. The Iceman, the Man of 1,000 Holds vs. The PWI Most Outstanding Wrestler and Best Flying Wrestler of 1996, ladies and gentlemen! As always, clips are in chronological order:

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Just the two clips - short and sweet this week. Thoughts?

[IC25]

This match was so significant for the landscape of professional wrestling. First off, the names Schiovane and Tenay listed in the WCW Cruiserweight Division such as Malenko, Guerrero, Benoit, Mysterio, Liger, etc. would go on to have such an impact on the last 13 years of wrestling. Second, from my own perspective, it was the arrival of the Cruiserweights coinciding with the creation of the nWo that turned me to WCW on Monday Nights.

While it's easy to look at the end of the match and feel upset that it ended with a rope cheat, the match was a harbinger of future matches and feuds, and really served not only WCW well, but also these smaller wrestlers well who finally had a stage on which to shine.

[DJ]

Rey vs Dean is onw of my favourite matches.Just a great crusierweight match.I have it on DVD and its simply amazing.Some spots are well worth watching and Mike Tenay is actully good commentating on it!

[klunderbunker]

WCW didn't get much better than this. It's what the show was supposed to be about: the best wrestlers in the world going at it. This match was just freaking sweet all around. I had seen a bit of mysterio in ecw so to see him show up here made me freak out. This is wrestling at its finest: two guys fighthing over a belt. No gimmicks, no dumb stories, just two guys putting on a hell of a show.

[TM]

Ahhh, the reason my Dad and I would watch WCW was because of these moments. I can't remember the match, though im sure I watched it when it was either on, or came out on VHS. Those two sure did put on one heck of a match.

[Uncle Sam]

Week Three

WWF Intercontinental Championship Match
Randy Savage (C) vs. Ricky Steamboat, WrestleMania III

As we prepare to have the Intercontinental Champion not defend his title on the grandest stage of them all for yet another year (not that we want to see a Jeff Hardy match), I think it‘s time for a reminder of how it once was. Well, it wasn‘t like this for me, and it probably wasn‘t like that for many of you reading, but it was for the lucky ones. I‘ve got to give credit where credit is due to SlyFox for introducing me to this match, which so happens to be 1987‘s PWI match of the year. I don‘t see how anyone who enjoys any type of wrestling could not enjoy this match. If you don‘t, you must like crap wrestling. Simple as, for me. There’s also another reason I think this will incite discussion despite it being a classic, see if you can guess what it is. Like always, the clips are in chronological order. Enjoy:

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Again, just two clips. I’ll be requiring your thoughts.

[klunderbunker]

Simply put, the greatest match i've ever seen on american soil. These two proved that you don't always need a crazy storyline to have a good match, just a guy out for revenge, and wanting a title. Every bit of this match makes sense and the action never lets up. It goes back and forth the entire time and the ending never fails to get me excited.

[Uncle Sam]

Whoa, this got unstickied and dropped like a brick. I thought maybe even SlyFox would comment on this one. I dread to think what will happen when I put up next week's.

[IrishEnglishman24]

i thought this was a good idea and there have been great matches on it so far. although when i hear macho man speak, i cant help think of scrubs.

keep posting, it'l stay high enough on the list to get noticed

[IrishEnglishman24]

outstanding match by the way. definately deserved match of the year award. jessie ventura is annoying in the background though

[Total Impact]

Randy Savage and Steamboat match was great, it had to be with all the practice the two did for the match and it came off looking great with the crowd into the match. That is what wrestling should be now, telling the story of feud in a epic match instead of trying to kill yourself with high spots. Even though Hogan had the moment of the night, this match was great. Reminds me of the matches with Steamboat and Flair. I suggest for next week a great Tag Team match with the Freebirds and the von erichs or Jerry Lawler vS Randy Savage.

[Capt. Charisma]

This is why Savage should win the tournament, he could win the tournament based on this match alone, because it shows what Savage was all about. I also feel though that Steamboat needs to get some credit, not a big a name as Savage prehaps but almost as good a wrestler.

This match did it for me a lot more than Malenko vs Rey, maybe its because i've never been a huge fan of crusierweight wrestling. Some of it just appears over the top, and sometimes stupid spots take precedent over delievering a match and 'telling a story'. But then I look at Malenko and I wouldn't even put this in his top 50 matches, he was so much more than a cruiserweight, he was a great wrestler technically and I look at his matches with Benoit and even Jericho and I just think they were so much better than your choice. Maybe I just am blinded by hatered for Rey, but I just cannot see what the majority of people like about him.

[Uncle Sam]

Week Four

WWWA Womens Championship Match
Jaguar Yokota vs. Lioness Asuka

I’m worried this week. Why, you might ask. Well, let me tell you why. This week, I’m featuring an entirely female match. I know... women wrestling! Next they’ll be wanting the vote, or to be released from my underground prison. I’ve already admitted on several occasions that I don’t know my Kong from my Candice, and so I requested that Echelon suggest this week’s match, and he obliged. Credit should go to him really, my contribution to this is pretty much just posting the match and typing this mildly amusing comment. I’m pretty oblivious to the history surrounding this match, and thus its impact on wrestling. I can tell you, however, it’s a damn good watch. And if it’s good enough for Echelon, it’s good enough for us:


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Three clips this week. Please leave a comment. Please.

[Uncle Sam]

Week Five

New Japan Pro Wrestling
Big Van Vader vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Credit goes to my new arch-nemesis, IrishCanadian25, for suggesting this week's match. IC also suggested Cactus Jack's Texas Deathmatch with Vader, but I don't think that stresses the potential entertainment value of big man quite like this match - keep an eye on Bam Bam too! I think this match presents a good argument that Bam Bam is in fact a superior big man to Vader, something which I personally support. This is a sort of an appetizer for next week's WrestleMania special, but it's ten minutes of pretty much pure entertainment that should not be overlooked at any costs. It's also the first match of the week which doesn't involve a title, fact fans. Enjoy.


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Oh, and leave a comment!

[Y 2 Jake]

Vader was still pretty green when that happened. It's nothing special. But it shows that he had potential even as a rookie.

[Mighty NorCal]

eh. Ive seen better outta vader. But stilll pretty decent big man match. first match ive ever seen in front of a asian crowd. FACT. I loved how hot they were for it. good stuff

[DJ]

Great match,bad ending.

[Uncle Sam]

Week Six
WrestleMania Special

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match, No Holds Bared
The Rock © vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, WrestleMania 17

I put a lot of thought into this week’s match. Obviously, it had to be something to do with WrestleMania - it’s WrestleMania weekend, WrestleMania is being advertised everywhere and I’m doing a WrestleMania special… WrestleMania!! The next question was: will people think I’m an attitude era mark if I put this up? The answer: I don’t give a flying fuck! I mean, even SlyFox appreciates this match, who are you to disagree? So here it is, the first match since the special opener to feature four entire YouTube clips! Astounding in every sense of the word. So watch in awe as the most electrifying man in sports entertainment, who is not a sell-out, takes on the Texas Rattlesnake in a clash of the ages. Love it or loathe it, it’s a consistent participant in “best ever” lists. And for good reason. When you’re watching Undertaker flying over the top rope or watching Randy Orton getting his arse handed to him this weekend, spare a thought for these two men. Unless it’s one of those “you had to be there” things…


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And remember to leave a WrestleMania-related comment!

[Mighty NorCal]

Not a big fan of the heel turn, or the over use of weapons in a WM main event. And I have been chastized to hell and back over it. Its like when I tell people I refuse to watch Sin City and Napoleon Dynamite. Which just drives me further into defiance. I will not veiw either of those movies in their entirety, and I do not like this match as a WM main event. Yea, I SAID IT.

[Y 2 Jake]

Great match. But the heel turn is shit. Also why would you pay for that Mania main event? You had it two years before.

[Uncle Sam]

Heel Austin was shit, but I was pretty shocked by the heel turn - I thought it was well executed. Rock and Austin, well, Rock at least, were bigger stars than they were at WrestleMania 15 and both were massive faces at the time. This was also the third consecutive WrestleMania main event that Rock lost. I think the match is even better in context... and with My Way instead of that shitty Adrenaline Rush song.

[Y 2 Jake]

I was shocked by it. But the crowd cheered, so it just didn't work.

Also Austin was always a heel anyway.

[Uncle Sam]

It was in Texas. Might have been the wrong place for the Austin heel turn. And Austin always had heel characteristics, but he never double teamed a man or worked for the boss... probably.

[Y 2 Jake]

He was always closer to being a heel than a face though.

Invasion Austin rules over any other version anyway.

[Uncle Sam]

Week Seven


WWE Championship
The Rock © vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H, Global Warning

Found this while searching YouTube. Yup. Enjoy:


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Leave a comment.

[bambam]

Muh, It's ok. Im not big on Lesner. Rock was good in it.
Keep up the great matches Uncle Sam

[Uncle Sam]

Week Eight

WWE Championship Match
Kurt Angle © vs. Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania XIX

Alright, after last week’s cool down period… OK, I completely forgot about it and put up some random video from my favourites, happy!? Anyway, business is yet again picking up this week. What better to get over those post-WrestleMania blues than WrestleMania? WrestleMania 19 to be exact, and the main event. Anybody with any pretensions of ring psychology leave them at the door. This is the best professional wrestling will ever be as a spectacle and as a sport. And, judging from the response to my Rock/Steve Austin video, you’ll all appreciate that. Wonder as Brock Lesnar apparently attempts to end Kurt Angle’s career - and his own - in some of the shit he pulls, as well as the Olympian himself pulling a Shawn Michaels. That is, dropping the title at WrestleMania and going out due a back injury. One of the best matches I have ever seen, possibly the best WrestleMania main event I’ve ever seen, and one of the reasons that Kurt Angle is and probably always will be my number one.

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Did you leave your pretensions at the door? Good! Leave a comment.

[bambam]

Great match! I Agree 100% one of the best ME for WM. Again you pick a great match! The Botched shooting star was jaw dropping, I thought he might have killed him self, the crazy part was like 2 weeks after WM, He tried it again! But, again Uncle Sam, Great match!

[IrishEnglishman24]

how brock didn't break his neck on the shooting star i don't know. i remember watching it and thinking he was dead from the way he landed. impressed he finished the match. it was one of the best MEs ever, let alone at WM.

[Uncle Sam]

It's weird, the botched SSP wasn't as bad as I thought. I think he landed more on the back of his head and it didn't bend his neck too much, just landed pretty solidly on his head. Hence the presence of a concussion yet no broken neck.

[bambam]

Awwww....... Still is was freaky as hell when you were watching it. Either way, Kurt was at his best in this match, i may not have been a huge Angle fan, but he was great in this match.

[blackhart07]

Say what you want about Angle but give him his respect on that match he had a broken neck, was in the main event at the biggest wrestling event ever, with a guy who dosnt know his own strength and was in the business for 1 1/2 years. He carried the match to a great one.

[Uncle Sam]

Week Nine

WCW United States Championship Match
"Stunning" Steve Austin (c) vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Clash of the Champions 1994

If you've got the recent Steve Austin DVD - wrongly titled the legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin - then you'll have seen this already. I just feel that it's not discussed enough how good a wrestler Austin was outside of brawling and story-telling terms before his Stone Cold days. Here's the prime example of that, a US title match with none other than Ricky Steamboat. It might be forgotten. God knows I didn't know about it. There's not much else to say, really, and so I won't say much else. I just think you might be...stunned. Coming soon: pun of the week.

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Leave a "stunning" comment. Oh ho, you just can't stop me!

[iceyblue2004]

The match the ended Ricky's career :(

[IrishEnglishman24]

yeah, was the front drop of the top turnbuckle did it. totalled the guy's back. good match though. austin with hair looked so much different and such a different style of wrestling. an interesting match sam

[Uncle Sam]

Week Ten

Raven vs. Chris Jericho, Halloween Havoc 1998

Yup, WCW again this week. Could be because that's what I mostly search YouTube for this days, having missed much of the phenomenon as a WWF fan the first time round. I think this match is the type of match that sounds great on paper - well, at least now it does - but only comes out above average in the ring. I have to confess, I only got to about the seven and a half minute mark and so I'll actually finish watching it after posting it. Who knows, maybe it really picks up in the last couple of minutes!

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Leave a comment and I promise I'll try my best to post a better video next week. Honest.

[iceyblue2004]

good ending, mid match snore...

[Uncle Sam]

Week Eleven

WWF Intercontinental Championship
The Rock (C) vs. Triple H, Fully Loaded 1998

AND

WWF Intercontinental Championship
The Rock (C) vs. Triple H, Summerslam 1998

A double whammy this week. Hope that doesn't sound gay or something. Anyway, you've got two Triple H (pre-Game) versus The Rock matches. Both pretty damn good. I vaguely remember watching both at the time, particularly the two out of three falls one (and, being less mature back then, thinking "This is going on for way too fucking long") but have refreshed my memory on both via the medium of YouTube. Actually, that's a lie. Actually, that's two lies. I watched the ladder match on my Ladder Match DVD (makes sense) and I haven't re-watched the two out of three falls one yet, but will shortly. Xfear seems sure of its quality, so blame him if it's shit. Anyway, enjoy: two matches which WZ members believe should or could have been better MOTY candidates than Foley/Taker in HIAC in 1998. And one more thing, if you get a grey screen instead of a video, just refresh the page until you get the video.


Match One (Two out of Three Falls)

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Match Two (Ladder)

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Leave a comment if you want to. You don't even have to watch the videos. They're good matches though. Really good ones. Ones that are better if you watch them on the internet. I swear.

[gonzagaE]

Cena and hardy, not much competition

[DJ]

^^^^^
Raven vs Jericho 2 weeks ago was cool too.

[unknown!!]

2 great matches in my opinon
The Rock (C) vs. Triple H, Summerslam 1998 in a ladder match was better

[kingrko]

This match wasn't just great, but epic, which is the highest compliment I give to any wrestling match. The simplicity of the storyline that led to it was what really made it awesome, as this was simply a match of pure wrestling between two pure talents for pure vengeance.

[kingrko]

The match itself seemed somewhat reminiscent of WM 15.... until the end. The Austin Heel turn was fairly executed with Vince to further his journey into being a heel. The chair thing that FINALLY put the Rock down....eh....didn't like it. It didn't have what I like to call the "Struck With Finalty" ending I was looking for. It looked like the heel Austin was just jabbing him with the chair before pinning him. Excellent Wrestlemania match, but one of the few that didn't end with one wrestler being "Struck With Finalty."

[kingrko]

A match that earns the highest compliment of Epic, in my book. This was the one match that had Lesnar in it that actually had me watching, especially the botched Shooting Star Press. I respect the hell out of him for finishing with a concussion, and I've always respected Kurt Angle for his phenomenal wrestling ability. Normally the whole Powerhouse vs Techincal Wrestler ends with a predictable match up, but not this time. And this was a match that which saw one wrestler (don't want to tell any newbie here who won.) "Struck With Finalty."

[kingrko]

I'm a fan of Trips, and always did like the charisma of The Great One. Both matches are great, and both can always have such dramatic finishes. In a two out of three falls, near the end of the match when both guys have one fall, normally everything starts to see-saw wildly to the point where you actually don't know whose gonna win. That's drama. Or when one guy is barely reaching the top of the ladder while the other is just crawling towards the bottom rung... priceless, especially when the guy who looks beat at the bottom somehow manages to get to the top in time.